Jeff Samardzija's decision to turn down a five-year offer last winter led to his name being bandied about in trade talk this week.

Before Wednesday night's 6-1 rain-delayed victory over the Brewers, general manager Jed Hoyer said the Cubs still would like to sign Samardzija to a long-term deal.

"We love having him on the team," Hoyer said. "He brings the right swagger and the right competitiveness to the club. His stuff is obviously good. He'll keep getting better. He deserves a ton of credit and (pitching coach Chris Bosio) deserves a ton of credit for what they have accomplished.

"I expect him to keep getting better and we want to acquire a lot more pitchers like him. That's our goal. It's hard to rank it on a priority list, but it's very high."

Samardzija said Saturday he doesn't play for money, and only needs $25 for a fishing license. He wants to remain with the Cubs, but is hoping to prove his worth on the field before signing a new deal. If the arbitration-eligible starter doesn't agree to a deal over the winter, however, the Cubs likely will shop him actively instead of just listening, as they apparently did this year.

"Obviously we never came close to any deal with Samardzija and we're happy we have him and hope he's here for a long time," Hoyer said.

The Cubs also figure to pick up David DeJesus' $6.5 million option.

"There are a ton of positives, and we would love to have him in a Cubs uniform going forward," Hoyer said.

Profane confines: The Cubs' business operations department put the blame on the players for a profanity-laden song that played over the p.a. system during Wednesday's batting practice with children in the park. The Cubs usually check the mix-tape, but inadvertently played a Lil Wayne song called "B******* Love Me" that contained the profanities. A Cubs official said the team regretted the error and the song will be removed from the playlist.

Game action:Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro homered off Wily Peralta early in Wednesday's game, before it was delayed in the sixth inning with the Cubs up 4-0.

Edwin Jackson allowed one run on eight hits over eight innings, improving to 7-11.